World’s First WELL™ Certified Restaurants Introduced by Delos®, the Pioneer of Wellness Real Estate™ and LYFE Kitchen

LYFE Kitchen Debuts Tarzana, CA and Chicago, IL Restaurants with Delos’ Innovative Wellness Designs and Plans to Incorporate the WELL Building Standard in All LYFE Kitchen Restaurants

A look at Delos' wellness features in the new LYFE Kitchen in Tarzana, CA. (Graphic: Business Wire)

NEW YORK & CHICAGO--()--The world’s first WELL™ Certified restaurants were unveiled today by Delos®, the pioneer of Wellness Real Estate™, and LYFE Kitchen Restaurant, the emerging lifestyle brand. The new LYFE Kitchen Restaurants in Tarzana, CA and Chicago, IL are now certified under the WELL™ Building Standard pilot program. Both were built to offer guests and employees a brand new dining and working environment that supports holistic wellness – from floor to ceiling, dining room to kitchen and all places in between.

LYFE Kitchen’s new Tarzana and Chicago restaurants represent the company’s third and fourth locations and the first two restaurants in the world to implement Delos’ innovative wellness designs and features. As part of its mission to deliver a complete lifestyle experience for guests to Eat Good Feel Good and Do Good, LYFE Kitchen plans to WELL Certify all new restaurants moving forward, which includes a pipeline of 250 new restaurants over the next five years.

Sustainability has become an important consideration for businesses of all types. In June 2012, the U.S. Green Building Council reported that more than 2 billion square feet of building space in the United States was LEED-certified. By pursuing the Delos WELL Certification Standard, in addition to LEED certification, LYFE Kitchen is taking sustainability one step further.

Wellness thought-leader Dr. Deepak Chopra hails LYFE Kitchen’s move as a milestone in making WELL Certified designs a new standard: “I commend the efforts of Delos and LYFE Kitchen to create a dining environment that promotes emotional and physical wellness,” notes Dr. Deepak Chopra. “The plans to open 250 WELL Certified LYFE restaurants in the next five years will provide a great platform for Delos to introduce its transformative wellness designs on a larger scale.”

The new LYFE Kitchen locations in Tarzana, CA and Chicago, IL incorporate Delos’ state-of-the-art designs and evidence-based wellness features, such as advanced air purification, water filtration systems, innovative lighting strategies, healthy entrances with dirt and virus track-in controls and anti-microbial coatings on common restaurant touch points.

“LYFE Kitchen and Delos share a common goal to improve the total well-being of individuals, so we welcomed this collaboration with Delos to pursue the WELL Building Standard,” said Mike Roberts, CEO of LYFE Kitchen. “Delos’ groundbreaking wellness designs allow us to provide a better environment and healthier lifestyle for both LYFE Kitchen diners and employees. While many guests who walk through the door won’t realize that these improvements and standards were made on their behalf, we know we are doing the right thing simply because it is in the best interests of our customers, the environment and consumers everywhere.”

Establishing a new benchmark for the foodservices industry, the first WELL Certified LYFE Kitchen restaurants feature more than a dozen groundbreaking health and wellness features:

  1. WELLShield™: photo-catalytic coating on common touch points such as tables, countertops and doors breaks down bacteria, viruses and VOCs on bacteria-susceptible surfaces to prevent the spreading of germs and bacteria within the restaurant.
  2. Advanced Air Filtration: the most advanced HEPA-standard air purification system reduces allergens, toxins and pathogens, creating better air quality and breathing.
  3. Advanced Water Purification: reduces disinfectant byproducts, chlorine, pesticides and some pharmaceutical and personal care products for the cleanest, most purified tap and sink water.
  4. Advanced Lighting: helps to minimize disruption of the body’s circadian system, enhance productivity and provide appropriate visual acuity to diners and employees through an advanced lighting system that contains controllable and dimmable LED lighting fixtures, along with light and occupancy sensors.
  5. Non-Porous Countertops: nonporous surfaces prevent the collection of food particles that encourage bacteria growth.
  6. Non-Porous Cutting Boards: prevents the collection of food particles that encourage bacteria growth.
  7. Separate Cutting Boards for meat, fish and vegetables: prevents cross-contamination and the spreading of illness-causing bacteria.
  8. Herbarium: enhances air quality and a more natural setting.
  9. Dietary Info on Display: provides nutrition awareness and promotes healthy eating habits.
  10. Cleaning Protocol: specialized chemical-free cleaning supplies and techniques for cleaning protocols including vacuuming, mopping, dusting and ventilation cleaning.
  11. EMF Shielding: protects against electrical equipment and wiring that emanates disruptive EMFs.
  12. Healthy Entrance: specialized entrance and doors with dirt track-in mats and areas that reduce unwanted chemicals, biological contaminants and other air quality hazards from entering the restaurant (not pictured).

“It is a real testament to LYFE Kitchen and its leadership that the organization is going to this length to create a well-focused environment for guests and employees alike,” noted Tarzana-resident, Dr. Armand Dorian, Emergency Room physician and LYFE Kitchen Wellness Advisor. “There is more and more interesting research being done on how our environment and surroundings impact us physically, as well as mentally and emotionally. Guests at LYFE Kitchen know that the food is going to be delicious and nourishing. Now they know the actual environment will be beneficial as well. That’s something to be excited about.”

“The opening of the WELL Certified LYFE Kitchen restaurant represents an exciting new avenue for Delos to introduce our evidence-based wellness designs in the restaurant and food industry segment,” said Delos Founder Paul Scialla. “Our plans to implement the WELL Building Standard in LYFE’s next 250 restaurants around the nation mark a significant step forward in furthering Delos’ mission to improve the way people live and enhance their quality of life through the built environment.”

A result of six years of research, development and collaboration with a board of researchers and doctors from Columbia University Medical School, as well as with architects, engineers and contractors, Delos’ WELL Building Standard is the first building standard focused exclusively on enhancing people’s health and well-being.

Until now, Delos has worked in the residential, office and hospitality sectors, completing its first commissioned loft space in Manhattan in 2011 and introducing 42 Stay Well™ hotel rooms at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in 2012. In fall 2013, Delos completed the world’s-first office space certified under the WELL Building Standard pilot program at CBRE’s new global headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, CA. Most recently, Delos announced Leonardo DiCaprio as a board member and an early investor in the company. Delos will also complete the world’s-first residences to be certified under the WELL Building Standard pilot program in fall 2013, which will be located in New York City’s Greenwich Village neighborhood.

About Delos

A U.S.-based real estate developer, Delos® has pioneered Wellness Real Estate™, which incorporates amenities that help sustain both the environment and enhance residents' health and well-being. Delos designs include an array of innovative, built-in amenities that research suggests will improve various aspects of individual occupant health including: cardiovascular, respiratory and sleep health, orthopedic health, weight and metabolism management, stress reduction, mood enhancement, cognition and memory enhancement, health literacy and health behavior motivation.

The Delos Advisory Board includes a distinguished panel of luminaries in the fields of wellness, science, public policy, real estate and business. Advisors include: Leonardo DiCaprio, leading philanthropist, sustainability advocate and award-winning actor; Dr. Deepak Chopra, world renowned health and wellness expert; the Honorable Dick Gephardt, former House of Representatives Majority Leader; Senator Mel Martinez, R-Fla. and former Senator and HUD Secretary; Jason McLennan, world renowned sustainable building expert; Dr. Michael Roizen, Chief Wellness Officer at Cleveland Clinic; Dr. Nicholas LaRusso, Director of the Center for Innovation at Mayo Clinic; Sue Firestone, Founder and Chairman of Smith/Firestone Associates; and Dolly Lenz, Former Vice Chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman. More information on Delos and its Advisory Board is available at www.delosliving.com.

About LYFE Kitchen Restaurant

LYFE Kitchen is committed to the idea that great-tasting food can also be good for you, affordable and convenient. With choices to please anyone, from flexitarian to vegetarian, omnivore to vegan, our celebrated chefs have developed a menu that is as delicious as it is inspiring. The LYFE Kitchen wellness panel includes some of the leading experts in functional medicine, neurology and wellness and the connection between food, function and overall well-being, including: Dr. Mark Hyman, chairman of the Institute for Functional Medicine and founder and medical director of the Ultrawellness Center, Dr. David Perlmutter, board certified Neurologist, Fellow of the American College of Nutrition and founder of the Perlmutter Health Center, Dr. Armand Dorian, board-certified emergency physician, clinical professor of emergency medicine, director of Emergency Department at Verdugo Hills Hospital and co-founder of Dox Solutions Wellness Group, and Dr. Anthony Cardillo, board-certified emergency physician, clinical professor of emergency medicine, and co-founder of Dox Solutions Wellness Group. Using locally sourced ingredients whenever possible with the highest standards of quality and adhering to the highest level of socially responsible practices, LYFE Kitchen is creating a new category -- the lifestyle restaurant. Visit www.lyfekitchen.com for more.

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/lyfekitchen and Twitter and Instagram @LYFEKitchen.

Contacts

For LYFE Kitchen
Kara Feigenbaum, 617-226-9351
kfeigenbaum@mullen.com
or
Michael Donahue
312-981-1220 ext. 1232
630-441-8080
michael.donahue@lyfekitchen.com
or
For Delos
Nike Communications, Inc.
Callie Shumaker, 646-654-3438
cshumaker@nikecomm.com

Release Summary

The world’s first ever WELL™ Building Certified restaurants were unveiled today by Delos®, the pioneer of Wellness Real Estate™, and LYFE Kitchen Restaurant, the emerging lifestyle brand.

Contacts

For LYFE Kitchen
Kara Feigenbaum, 617-226-9351
kfeigenbaum@mullen.com
or
Michael Donahue
312-981-1220 ext. 1232
630-441-8080
michael.donahue@lyfekitchen.com
or
For Delos
Nike Communications, Inc.
Callie Shumaker, 646-654-3438
cshumaker@nikecomm.com